->''"Is that... food? Everyone smuggled food down here!? Unbelievable! You guys put our lives in danger because you couldn't go without a snack for a day!? You are all... awful! ''[stomach growls]'' So hungry... is that... [[PuppyDogEyes egg custard in that tart?]]"''-->-- '''Aang''', ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', "The Great Divide"

Hunger is a very powerful force. A starving person may degrade themselves for a scrap of food; a [[TheHedonist hedonist]] will do so for a teaspoon of cous cous. [-Mmm... delicious-] ''[-cous cous.-]'' Even a person with a full stomach may have a hard time resisting a [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal marvelously mouthwatering meal or morsel]].

Much like characters with AttentionDeficitOohShiny, these characters are distracted by something delicious, like a freshly baked, moist, [-sweet delectable apple pie cooling on a window sill...-] ''[--* drools* --] [=* cough* =]''

Yeah. [[SelfDemonstratingArticle Like that.]]

This can be used as a "soft" AchillesHeel against gluttonous characters (or anyone, provided the [[strike:bait]] dessert is good enough) that can do anything from distract, bribe, or completely sidetrack a given character for up to an hour (or more, if the tempter is a cook with a fully stocked kitchen). In cartoons, this may be enough to stop a [[CarnivoreConfusion predator]]/enemy in their tracks, in other media, the sleeping dust/amnesia powder sprinkled over the glazing does the trick.

May happen just by looking at it, smelling it, and in powerful instances from mere ''memory'' or having it be described... like that time I had this ''delicious'' just-baked and still warm pineapple [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empanada empanada]], [-with a gold crust that was still crisp yet unburnt,-] [--and the filling with small chunks of pineapple still discernible when you chewed,--] [---* drool* ---]

A SupremeChef can easily invoke this trope.

Intimately related to FoodPorn, which is about distracting the audience with the yummy. Also closely related to MeatOVision, ObsessedWithFood and ColdTurkeysAreEverywhere, diet edition. See DeliciousFruitPies for a comic book ad variation.----!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Advertising]]* All-State's "Mayhem" has one commercial where Mayhem plays a dog guarding a house being robbed. They've placated him with a bone, demonstrating how an AngryGuardDog could be easily avoided.* As countless [[DeliciousFruitPies Hostess ads in comic books]] taught us back in the BronzeAge, any supervillain can be distracted by the light flaky crust and delicious fruit filling of Hostess cakes. Really, all super heroes ought to carry a few packs of them.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]* In ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', Goku and Vegeta are fighting [[SendInTheClones evil clones]] of Piccolo, Gohan, and Gotenks. Majin Buu, however, comes across a store full of [[TrademarkFavoriteFood cakes]] at that exact moment... turning the clone fighters inside Buu into cake, letting Goku and Vegeta pass.* [[Anime/DigimonAdventure Metalseadramon]]'s henchman Scorpiomon loves clams, so much that it distracts him long enough for Togemon and Ikkakumon to digivolve and finish him off.* At the {{stinger}} skit of Episode 4 of ''Manga/DailyLivesOfHighSchoolBoys'', the three girls (DistaffCounterpart of the three main boys) discuss why boys are [[SelfDeprecation boring to watch]] and [[BreakingTheFourthWall wonder how they even got an anime]]. Then Yanagi and Ikushima got the idea of asking (read: screaming at) Karasawa, who lives next door to Habara's house (where the girls frequently meet). Then Karasawa throws them sweets, and the two girls stop screaming at him and gorged at the food like there's no tomorrow.** This was found to be a {{subversion}} in the next episode, since the snacks Karasawa threw to the girls were all expired. Bullying continues.* In ''Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia'' Canada at one point attaches a note that reads "There is food inside" to a package in an effort to trick America into opening it. The last panel of the comic shows America desperately trying to restrain himself.** There's also a comic where Rome is shown daydreaming about food and women while bored during a meeting.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]* Goku in ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'' has this crop up frequently while he's in the middle of a fight.-->'''Goku:''' AH! MY RIBS! I THINK YOU BROKE MY- Mmmm… Ribs…[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film]]* In the film ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets'', Hermione decides to try knocking out [[GoldfishPoopGang Crabbe and Goyle]] by leaving sedative-laced muffins floating in mid air in a hallway. [[WhatAnIdiot It works perfectly]].** In the original novel, they didn't have an excess special effects budget to be showing off, so they just set them on the banisters by the stairs, to exactly the same effect. At least that's only mildly stupid.* In ''Film/TheRock'', Sean Connery's character has the hotel room service deliver a full spread of snacks to distract the FBI agents that are supposed to be keeping an eye on him while he enacts his scheme to escape [[spoiler: and meet up with his daughter.]]* The easiest way to get B.A. Baracus in ''Film/TheATeam'' to calm down and stay out of your hair is to give him a plate of Murdock's coconut curry tapenade. Just don't forget the toasties.* During the extended version opening of ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRings Fellowship of the Ring]]'' (well, second opening; during the ''Concerning Hobbits'' scene), a hobbit-maid is about to kiss her hobbit-lover, who is distracted by a basket of muffins going around and eats it instead. At the exact same moment, Bilbo narrates that "a Hobbit's only true love is for food."* In ''Film/BeverlyHillsCop'', Axel Foley successfully distracts a pair of cops on a long stakeout by sending over a lavish dinner, and uses the opportunity to sabotage their car so they can't follow him later. He does it again against the two protagonist cops, but this time only uses the distraction to introduce himself.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]* ''Series/PushingDaisies'' has this happen to the aunts, when their niece custom bakes them a cheese coated pie. And of course, it had mood elevating drugs baked in.* Jimmy from ''Film/ReeferMadness: TheMovie {{Musical}}'' starts ranting at his drug dealer about how he's done smoking pot, and nothing can change his mind, but gets sidetracked shortly after the dealer offers him a brownie. Admittedly, it was a pot brownie, but Jimmy didn't know that before he dropped his argument to eat it.* ''Series/CakeBoss'' Buddy Valastro gave [[Series/SesameStreet Cookie Monster]] a large cookie cake, because he loves him. As a bonus, it kept Cookie away from Buddy's main project: a 40th anniversary ''Series/SesameStreet'' cake.--> '''Cookie Monster''': Me prayers have been answered!* Appears on ''TopGear'''s Polar Special (the three presenters' attempt to reach the magnetic north pole). After a particularly stressful day, James May distracts Jeremy Clarkson with various gourmet foods and (awesomely) a bottle of Chablis, all of which he has somehow brought along without his friend noticing.* Occurs in {{Psych}} when Gus keeps distracting Shawn with Snickers bars in "Ferry Tale".* On those occasions on ''HogansHeroes'' when Schultz does not know nothing, he can be bribed with food to know nothing.* Tested and confirmed on ''Series/{{Mythbusters}}'', in regards to distracting an AngryGuardDog with meat. However, it was noted that it is possible (though not easy) to train a guard dog to ignore such distractions.* [[WrenchWench Kaylee]] from ''{{Firefly}}'' often finds herself distracted by delicious-looking fresh fruit. At one point she managed to make an entire generation of sci-fi fans [[CargoEnvy jealous of a strawberry.]]* In ''{{Friends}}'' when Joey's sister Dina told him she was pregnant, she (at Rachael's suggestion) got him a meatball sub to distract him in case he got angry.* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer:'' In the episode "Earshot", while searching for a student that they suspect is about to enact a school shooting at Sunnydale High, Xander is distracted by some Jello while passing through the cafeteria. [[spoiler: Which leads him to the person who's ''really'' planning to murder a bunch of students: the lunch lady, whom he catches dumping rat poison into the mulligan stew.]]** In "The Zeppo" Giles gets miffed while preparing for TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt because Buffy had eaten all the jelly donuts.* Ron, from Season 18 of ''Series/TheAmazingRace''. Several times he lost his concentration, even mid-task, and tried to get his daughter to stop to get food.* In the episode [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E18HollywoodBabylon "Hollywood Babylon"]] of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', Dean is distracted by miniature Philly cheesesteaks on the craft table when Sam attempts to discuss the case they are investigating.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]* In the ''Literature/LuckyStarr'' series, David tries to distract some sentient alien form of life by throwing them something they consider a delicacy. [[spoiler: The degree of success is one of the hints that they might not be that sentient after all...]]* ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'' characters will reminisce rhapsodically about food whenever they aren't actually sitting down to a sumptuous feast, but the robin from ''Mossflower'' has to take the cake for this trope because he operated solely on food-based bribery.** The hares are also notorious [[BigEater big eaters]], [[VerbalTic wot]].* In ''Literature/TheThiefOfAlways'', the MasterOfIllusion uses food to make the heroes forget about the real world and their goal of defeating him.* In ''Discworld/ThiefOfTime'', chocolate proves itself to be a ''Deadly'' Delicious Distraction, for Auditors that are new to having human bodies or taste buds. At one point, the mere scent of a single piece of high-end chocolate candy sets a mob of them to fighting one another, and the sole survivor's body disintegrates from sheer bliss upon eating it.** In ''Discworld/UnseenAcademicals'', Glenda uses scrumptious pies to bribe her way past Lord Vetinari's security guards. Subverted in that Vetinari'd ordered the guards to accept any bribes regardless of their value or quality; played with in that he scolds his aide for having the pies disposed of, uneaten: he knew Glenda's grandmother from her time as a cook at the Assassin's Guild, and neither she nor her granddaughter would dream of fouling a recipe with poison.* Ax from ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}''. Oh, Ax from ''Animorphs''. Andalites don't have mouths or tongues, so Ax in human morph is positively overwhelmed by the sense of taste.** Do NOT get between Ax and a cinnamon roll. ''You will bleed.''** ''Every'' Andalite who adopts a human morph. By the end of the series, Andalite ''tour groups'' visit Earth just to sample human cuisine.* At one point in ''[[HeraldsOfValdemar Take A Thief]]'', Skif bypasses some guard dogs with a cross between this trope and SlippingAMickey. He mixes chopped meat with bread crumbs soaked in poppy juice, stuffs the concoction into sausage casings, and tosses them over the wall.* ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear: EatenAlive'': The better to tempt visitors to relax and stay, the Enzeen have a habit of providing all visitors with free food, lots of it, all very good. Most visitors immediately trust them, but this is subverted with Tash, whose latent Force-Sensitivity gives her a bad feeling about the whole thing. The food is actually [[spoiler: just fine, simply used to help visitors feel at ease so they can be eaten themselves later with less fuss.]][[/folder]]

[[folder:Music Video]]* The promo film for "Happy Jack" by Music/TheWho has the band as a gang of [[BlatantBurglar Blatant Burglars]] who sneak into an apartment and start trying to break into the safe... only to be quickly distracted when their lookout discovers a lovely cake.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]* There is a spell in ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' called "Illusory Feast" that creates a feast that seems to have their favourite foods and is real as far as natural senses can tell. Causes foes that aren't actively involved in fighting to drop what they're doing and indulge. Foes that are fighting are slightly dazed.* ''TabletopGame/{{Chrononauts}}'', the card game of time travel, includes an artifact from the 1939' Berlin World's Fair: [[http://www.wunderland.com/LooneyLabs/Chrononauts/Mysteries.html#1.1 a delicious slice of German Cake]]. You can use it during another player's turn to distract them and cancel whatever it is they were about to do.* In ''TabletopGame/{{Munchkin}}'', you can acquire an item called "Rat On A Stick" which you can use to distract monsters and avoid fighting them.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theatre]]* In ''Theatre/SeventeenSeventySix'', UsefulNotes/JohnAdams is briefly distracted from haranguing BigEater Samuel Chase for a vote on independence by the contents of his plate.-->''"What's that, kidney?" [Chase slaps his hand away.]''[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]* In the [[NotSafeForWork Not Safe For Work]] web series-thingy(?) ''{{Felarya}}'' has many of the giants get distracted by prey, usually done for comedic affect, oddly enough.* A couple of guys trying to distract the watchout in ''WebVideo/DoomsdayArcade'' successfully distracted him by using a 'Free Sandwiches' sign.* WoW-based comedy series ''Illegal Danish'' involves the characters Rasi and Basutei traveling to Ashenvale for apparently nothing but a vending machine. Rasi is annoyed, but Basutei is overjoyed, and launches into his own little commercial when he sees the machine is stocked with "Goblin Cakes." He then breaks open the machine and starts stuffing his face until Rasi throws the machine off the tower.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]* In ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'', Heavy Weapons Guy's [[SatiatingSandwich Sandvich]] proves to be one in-game. Loudly chomping down OM NOM NOM, he cannot react if someone attacks him while eating his Sandvich. Woe betide Heavy if there is an enemy Spy around or a Sniper gets a fix on him.* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', the templar charged with making sure no one visits the [[spoiler: Abomination infested]] Circle Tower can be bribed with cookies provided by Sten. Cookies that Sten stole from a fat slovenly child -- for his own good, of course.* When fighting The Fear in ''MetalGearSolid3'', his stealth camo will drain his stamina extremely fast. When it gets low, he'll shoot down some convenient fruit, gobble it down, and continue the fight. He is very vulnerable during this time, but can't actually be stopped from eating the fruit (he'll keep moving no matter what you shoot him with). However, you can throw your ''own'' food, some of which may be ''poisoned'', and he'll go for that instead, as it is more convenient.* This is combined with {{Distracted by the Sexy}} in ''MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker''. You can research a variation in the porno magazines; the food magazines, which are used to [[spoiler: distract the Velocipreys]].* In ''VideoGame/AmnesiaTheDarkDescent'', you can buy time from the invisible monster in the water by tossing body parts for it to devour instead. Preferably as far away from where you need to be as possible.* In the ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'' series, the stoves and ovens in various towns can be examined for [[FoodPorn short, appetizing descriptions]] of their contents; every oven is unique. Some of the descriptions also include reaction lines, apparently by the HeroicMime player character (Isaac in the first game, Felix in the second, Matthew in the third), suggesting they have an interest in food. [[FridgeBrilliance Which would explain why they're stopping to check out every oven in all the towns]]...--->He is making shrimp in a chili sauce. The shrimp looks so scrumptious... My mouth is watering.* In the ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'' series, one can leave a piece of meat on the ground, which might entice a large monster into snacking on it, leaving them open to attacks while they eat and also possibly paralyzing them, poisoning them, or putting them to sleep if you combined it with something beforehand. Exactly how effective it is varies from monster to monster, some of them being cautious and only doing so while no hunters are in sight, while others will go for it even if they're being attacked.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]* Appeared in ''TheSimpsons''.** Subverted when Homer tries to distract an AngryGuardDog chasing Bart with a steak. The dog eats the steak in one bite and doesn't slow down at all.--->'''Homer''': Faster, son! He's got a taste for meat now!** Subverted in a Treehouse of Horror episode, when Homer is being chased by Ned Flanders' guard dogs. (ItMakesSenseInContext) He pulls out a large string of sausages:--->'''Homer''': I know! [Pulls out string of sausages] These wieners will give me the quick energy I need to escape! [Homer eats them and suddenly speeds up, leaving the dogs in the dust]** Played straight and parodied during The Cat's burglary spree. Santa's Little Helper growls at the intruder, who quiets him with a string of sausages. In comes a sleepwaling Homer, who also growls at The Cat... who also quiets him with another string of sausages.** Similarly in {{Futurama}} when Bender comes across an angry guard dog he pulls out a huge steak... he then proceeds to knock the dog unconscious with it and eats the steak himself.* ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' and Scooby Snacks. Though Shaggy and Scooby are afraid of their own shadow, all it takes is a little bribery with the snacks to get them to agree to do something scary OncePerEpisode.* {{Freakazoid}} defeated Candle Jack by distracting him with pie.* It took a ton of Reese's Pieces to booby trap James Woods in ''FamilyGuy''.-->"Ooh, a piece of candy! Ooh, a piece of candy! Ooh, a piece of candy!"* In ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'', cheese is a ridiculously effective distraction for Monty, even when the one with the cheese is only doing so unwittingly. In "Mind Your Cheese and Qs", Rat Capone has Gadget [[DeathTrap tied to a conveyor belt with a chopping thing somewhere along the way]], and distracts Monty from rescuing her by holding up Brie '86, his favorite cheese. He does end up rescuing her, but he really has a struggle.* ''AngelsFriends'': This often gets Gas into trouble because of his eating habits due to him being ObsessedWithFood.* The ''[[WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce Aqua Unit Patrol Squad 1]]'' episode "Lasagna" has [[JerkAss Master Shake]] distract Carl ([[ItMakesSenseInContext who is under house arrest after a hooker bit his tongue]]) with the eponymous pasta.* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', Pinkie Pie is inclined to let Discord take over the world and bathe it in chaos because that means it's going to rain chocolate.-->"Eternal chaos comes with [[Music/TayZonday chocolate rain,]] you guys! ''Chocolate. Rain!''"[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]* TruthInTelevision, in relation to predators. Since they're usually motivated by hunger, leaving an easier meal close by can distract them long enough to allow you to escape. Even a vicious guard dog can be tempted from duty by a nice steak (better hope you can run faster than it can eat, though). Of course a guard dog can be trained ''not'' to be distracted this way....** So goes the old campfire warning - I don't need to outrun the ''bear''; I just need to outrun ''you''.* The FBI pulled a variation of this on a notorious Mafioso. He conducted all his business in a junkyard, which the FBI could never approach to bug because of the vicious guard dogs. Agents came by every night for weeks and fed the dogs over the fence with steaks. Finally, the dogs grew to like the Agents and allowed them onto the property, where the Agents were able to plant a microphone and get the evidence they needed. To make the story truly hilarious, the agents returned to confront the Mobster and get him to turn State's Evidence but he laughed them off, claiming there was no way they could have bugged his office. Until the dogs came over and licked the Agent's hand. He flipped immediately.[[/folder]]----->''Ooh, [[EvilTastesGood chocolate chip cookies! *munch munch*]] [[WesternAnimation/StreetFighter This is DELICIOUS!!]]''